Andy Murdy, managing director, Explorator Consulting

Why should people attend IOSH 2017?

It is the must-attend safety and health conference this year. The world of work is changing and the safety and health profession needs to keep pace.

There is a great line-up of influential and high-level speakers and there are also fantastic networking opportunities. Whether you are a safety and health professional or a senior leader, the conference will provide you with the latest information to help you protect the future of your business.

What will you be speaking about?

Last December my organisation, which provides health and safety consulting services, became involved with a project in Egypt. I will be explaining how this came about, what we are doing and how we are helping them to deliver against the project’s objectives.

How can we transform safety and health around the world?

For the past 20 years, I’ve worked from Europe to America and from South America to Asia.

The challenges that we in the UK faced and dealt with in the 1990s still exist in many other parts of the world. It is possible that a real difference can be made in other countries to improve health and safety.

We can show how safety is an aid, how it can lead to improved productivity, better construction and better manufacturing rather than something that gets in the way.

What are the main challenges facing safety and health professionals?

The profession must respond to new challenges that are emerging in the modern world. One of the main challenges is the question of competence.

It is vital that organisations have the right people in place to ensure that safety and health is a key driver in the success of the business. These people must be able to ensure that jobs are done both safely and productively – you can’t have one or the other.

Key to that is being able to analyse and deliver appropriate actions at the right time. Attending IOSH 2017 will help to build this approach.

Why should people attend IOSH 2017?

IOSH 2017 is a great place to pick up the latest safety and health developments. There are going to be people there from all over the world; from the Middle East, from Australia, from the UK and it’s a real chance to see what they’ve got to say.

How does it feel to be involved and what will you be speaking about?

I’m going to be presenting alongside Monica Monti from Abellio London and Surrey on a session entitled “The use of mindfulness in health and safety to reduce incidents”. The session will look at how mindfulness can be used as a tool to prevent incidents and accidents across a range of industries.

A case study will be presented, detailing the work carried out jointly by Abellio and CIRAS to introduce the practice of mindfulness to bus drivers, with the clear intent to help them stay focused and avoid safety-related incidents.

How can we transform safety and health around the world?

I think health and safety professionals have got big challenges at the moment. For example, we’ve got an ageing workforce to contend with and we’ve got factors such as stress and anxiety which are commonplace.

To be able to get the most out of people we need to look not just at the economics of it, but also the psychology and how we can get people engaged over the long term for better business and better health and wellbeing.

What one piece of advice do you have for safety and health professionals?

I think it’s an absolutely great area to start your career in because lots of jobs, we are told, are going to be obsolete in the future. Safety and health is never going to become obsolete. It’s become a more popular subject to study and practise in. It’s a good place to be.